The global banking giants, American and Japanese in the lead, lent or arranged more than $700 billion last year for the benefit of fossil fuels, a consortium of NGOs said on Monday, an amount nevertheless on a downward slope, particularly among French banks. .
Banks must urgently stop financing oil and gas expansion and favor financing for sustainable energy for electricity production, commented Lucie Pinson, founder and director of Reclaim Finance, quoted in a press release.
Since the signing of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5C compared to the pre-industrial era (1850-1900), there have been nearly $6.896 billion in loans, ‘stock or bond issues that went to oil, gas and coal companies, according to the latest edition of the Banking on Climate Chaos report.
In detail, the approximately 60 banks studied last year totaled $705.8 billion in these different forms of financial support, an amount down 9.5% over one year, comparable scope.
The American JPMorgan is the leading financial supporter of fossil fuels, with nearly $41 billion last year (+5.4%), ahead of the Japanese Mizuho and MUFG, according to data collected by eight NGOs, including Rainforest. Action Network, Reclaim Finance and Urgewald.
Gradual withdrawal of major French banks
The figures also show a gradual withdrawal of major French banks since 2020.
In 2023, one of the notable developments is the reduction in financing from French banks to these companies, notes Reclaim Finance, which is rather accustomed to handing out bad points.
The share of the six major French banks (BNP Paribas, Crdit Agricole, Socit Generale and BPCE for the most part, Crdit Mutuel and La Banque Postale for a tiny part) was around 40 billion dollars last year, according to the study, or around 10 billion less than in 2022 and 5.6% of the total.
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